How to keep your life simple

I recently bought a book entitled If I Really Wanted to Simplify My Life I Would.
Its insights can’t guarantee that your life will be less complicated, but they can help you know what your priorities are and enable you to manage your responsibilities.

Here are some of the tips I picked up from the book:

• Give yourself permission to say "no." We live in a society that is constantly challenging us to stretch beyond our limits and reach for the stars. Pleas for help and demands on our time and energies await in every corner. But eventually, we each have to accept the fact that we can’t do them all. Freedom comes when we learn that such expectations are unrealistic and misguided.

Saying "no" frees you to say "yes" to those things that bring the greatest satisfaction and sense of well-being. It allows you to "de-clutter" your life and restore balance. It is the first step to leading a simpler life.

• Clean out your closets. Items that have been stored in your closets for over a year merely take up space and make it more difficult to find things you need.

There are many non-profit agencies that can provide a way to put those annoying leftovers to good use across the nation and around the world.

Cleaning your closets can lighten your load and allow you the pleasure of knowing you are helping to meet the needs of others.

• Keep a rolling grocery list. Did you ever have three or four essential items in mind while you were putting away the groceries you just purchased? Have you ever brought home duplicate items because you couldn’t remember what you bought on your last shopping trip?

Try keeping a notepad and a pen in the kitchen dedicated solely to grocery items and give all members of the household access to it. Your list will serve as a handy tour guide for your next shopping extravaganza. Imagine coming home with no duplicate purchases and no forgotten items. Everything is easier with a plan.

• Put things back where you got them. So much time is wasted looking for misplaced keys, tickets, eyeglasses, records for tax preparations, the other sock or shoe or earring. Returning something to its place turns out to be an investment when you think of it that way.

Designate a place for each item and return it after using. Organization creates harmony and lessens stress.

• Delegate. No person can do all or be all. That’s why eventually we must reach the conclusion that we must share responsibility with others. And after all, sharing work often makes it more fun.

To delegate successfully, be willing to trust others to complete a job. Allow for errors. Don’t expect perfection and be quick to give rewards and praise.

• Learn to use a crackpot. Many things in life can be done in similar two-for-one fashion. Use drive time for listening to inspirational or educational tapes. Use chores as an opportunity to interact with other family members. Let children practice math skills as part of a trip to the grocery store.

Look for ways to do good things at once without sacrificing quality in either task.

• Read instructions and follow them. You can avoid frustration and conflict by taking time to read through the instructions before beginning any project. Toys go together more quickly. Recipes usually taste better. Projects are accomplished with greater efficiency and quality. Though you may not want to admit it, working without reading the instructions is like trying to find your way to Kansas without a road map.

Many efforts failed or fall short of their potential due to lack of information. Get the best information and apply it.

• Address small problems before they become disasters. Minor irritations rarely go away on their own. Instead they have a way of transforming themselves into great, big, complicated messes. If you have a loose button on your shirt, ignore it and sure enough, it will fall off in the middle of a business meeting.

Putting off the remedy to minor irritants only gives them the opportunity to become complicated problems. Simplify your future by dealing directly with the present.

We are all faced with the same problem – so much to do, so little time to do it. We need to find ways to simplify our lives. Life in itself is already complicated. Let’s not complicate it more.

These simple yet practical tips will definitely help ease our stress, allowing more time to attend to our responsibilities. The result is a happier you and a simpler life.

(E-mail me at babyjackster@yahoo.com)